


All Apologies for Almost

by canufeelthemagictonight



Series: ETNuary [3]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (but Teala doesn't), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Confessions, Drabble, ETNuary, Forgiveness, Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, Happy Jc Day!, Jc and Matt bromance, Jc lives, One Shot, the character death is only briefly touched upon at the start
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:02:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22092262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canufeelthemagictonight/pseuds/canufeelthemagictonight
Summary: Jc decides that now would be a good time to strike up a conversation with the man who saved his life.In which Jc Caylen survives the clowns, finds out the truth, and decides that it doesn't matter anymore.An Escape the Night AU. Day 3 of ETNuary.
Relationships: Jc Caylen & Matthew Patrick
Series: ETNuary [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1587721
Comments: 12
Kudos: 40





	All Apologies for Almost

**Author's Note:**

> Day 3 is Jc Caylen! And it's spelled _Jc,_ not _JC,_ for the record. Capitalization is very important.  
> (Also, sorry if this isn't my best work.)

Jc feels like he's going to be sick, and he wasn't even the one who ate the dry vegan hot dogs.

He just watched someone _die._ Not just _any_ old someone, either, but someone he _knew,_ someone who he considered a _friend_ before the night went south. Teala might've not helped out as much as she could've, but she didn't deserve to be stabbed to death by clowns.

Then again, it could've been worse. It could've been _Jc_ who died.

_Thank God that I had Matt to make sure that didn't happen._

Safiya and Calliope untie Jc, Matt grabs the note and passes the jack-in-the-box to Mortimer, and all five of them flee the tent as fast as they can. Jc stays close to Matt. The Detective seems relieved that he won the challenge and got Jc down from the wonder wheel, but at the same time, there's an odd sort of guilt in his eyes that seems out of place.

Jc decides that now would be a good time to strike up a conversation with the man who saved his life. "Hey, Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for your help back there. I owe you one."

"Uh...yeah." Matt looks at Jc, then quickly looks away. "Anytime." 

_What's up with him?_ Jc wonders. Then, he realizes the stupidity of that question. _Teala just_ died, _that's what's up with him. It's kinda hard to be proud of yourself when your win meant that someone else got killed in front of you._ "You okay? Need a hug?"

"I'm fine, thanks," murmurs Matt.

Jc shrugs. "Okay." He's not the type of guy to push an issue.

They walk a few more paces—Calliope, Safiya, and Mortimer in the front, Jc and Matt bringing up the rear—before Matt stops suddenly in his tracks, his face a Picasso painting of various emotional swirls. "I'm sorry." The words seem to burst out of his chest. "I'm _so_ sorry, Jc. I didn't know."

"What are you talking about, man?" asks a very confused Jc.

"I..." Matt winces as he speaks. "I voted for you."

 _Holy shit._ The news shocks Jc like a live electrical wire. _So I was right. That stupid joke I made at the lounge was_ right. _I chose the guy who voted me in to save me._

_And he did it. He saved me. So what does it matter now?_

Matt's still talking. "I didn't know you too well, and I wasn't in your group, so I made assumptions that I shouldn't have—"

"It's cool," says Jc. "I get it. It's all good."

"No, it's not! I could've killed you!"

"But you didn't." Jc smiles forgivingly at Matt. "Hell, you saved my life, so I'd say that makes up for it. Just don't vote for me again, and we'll all be good. Kapeesh?" He holds out his closed hand to Matt for a fist bump.

Hesitancy darts over Matt's features, but he accepts the fist bump. "Kapeesh."

"Good. Now let's get back to the lounge before they send a search party after us."

As the two boys follow the rest of the group to the lounge, Jc's stomach feels a bit better than before. Yeah, he's still not over the trauma of watching Teala die, and he doesn't know how long he himself has left to live, but hey, at least he's made a new friend. He might as well count his blessings.

**Author's Note:**

> Next up: Shane Dawson!


End file.
